Lab Members

Neal Williams – I am an evolutionary ecologist whose research ranges from basic bee and pollination biology to conservation biology and agricultural pollination. I am deeply interested in the interactions of flower visitors and the floral hosts which they often pollinate. I explore questions about pollinators, flowering plants and pollination from a variety of perspectives and at different scales from the foraging of individual bees, to the persistence of their populations, to the stability and dynamics of their communities in space and time. –more about my research

Graduate students

Jennifer Van Wyk - I am broadly interested in floral evolution, pollinator community structure and global change. Currently I work in restored wet meadows in the Sierra Nevada – investigating temporal patterns of pollinator community assembly and functional restoration. My previous research has looked at butterfly constancy in a manipulated phenotypic array as well as single visit success and pollen load capacity of butterflies visiting Hymenoxys hoopesii.

Leslie Saul - My previous research documented cooperative aggressive chemical and visual mimicry in a blister beetle bee nest parasite. The larvae of Meloe franciscanus cooperate to mimic the sex pheromones of the solitary bee Habropoda pallida female to lure in males. The larvae then attach to the male bee and then transfer to female bees when the male attempts to copulate with the female bee. My research interests include the evolution of chemical mimicry systems and the selection pressures on sex pheromone communication system of bees. I am also interested in the pollination ecology and conservation biology of native bees. http://www.lsaul.com

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Margaret Rei Scampavia – My research deals with isolating and identifying specific soil attributes that affect nest site selection in ground nesting bees, and how these attributes impact offspring success. I am also interested in how nesting habitat availability shapes bee community composition and distribution across the landscape. My current focus is on sunflower fields and serpentine mosaic grasslands. Prior to arriving at Davis, I studied rare plant reproductive biology.

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Ross Brennan – My interests range from basic bee and plant biology to community ecology and ecosystem function. I am particularly fascinated by how species interact as members of complex networks, how individuals accumulate into populations and communities, and how species play different roles within ecological communities. My previous work has focused on the co-flowering phenology of montane wildflower communities, phenology and diversity of Rocky Mountain bee species, and characterizing a bipartite plant-pollinator interaction network across time. I hope to explore the spatiotemporal dynamics and ecosystem functional roles of various plants and pollinators within natural plant-pollinator networks. Megachile relativa is one of my favorite native bee species.

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John Mola – I intend to conduct research on the spatial components of bumblebee population dynamics. I find the tricky ways seeds, bees, and pollen get around to be rather fascinating and am broadly interested in how climate change may alter their dispersal mechanisms. For my master’s work at Humboldt State University, I focused on the management potential of Osmia lignaria on small Northern California farms. I can sometimes be found giving impromptu lectures on bees to interested (or helpless) strangers in the hot springs of the Eastern Sierra. I can be reached at jmmola@ucdavis.edu

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Postdoctoral researchers

Ola Lundin – I am interested in how functionally important insects in agriculture like pollinators, pests and natural enemies are affected by agricultural management and environmental drivers at the field, landscape and regional scale. In my PhD project I explored these questions in Swedish clover seed production, studying pollination and pest control provided by bumble bees and parasitoids attacking economically important seed predators. In my postdoc project I will be working with enhancement of pollination and pest control services with wildflower plantings as a part of the ICP project. My CV and Publications. olalundin@ucdavis.edu

Claire Brittain - My research explores the effect of local farm attributes and landscape on pollination. My expertise also extends to pesticide impacts on native bees. http://clairebrittain.wordpress.com/

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Project Specialist

Kimiora Ward -Kimiora, an expert in plant restoration ecology, is a key collaborator in and manager of projects surrounding habitat enhancement to bolster native pollinators.

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Junior Specialists

Logan Rowe – I am working on projects that aim to boost the abundance and diversity of native pollinators in agricultural systems. My interests include examining the roles that native pollinators play in pollination systems and whether floral enhancements increase the populations of ground nesting bees within agricultural landscapes. I am also interested in more general questions related to pollen usage and foraging behavior in bees.

Kitty Bolte – I am interested in increasing native bee abundance and diversity through restoration projects in agricultural settings, and also in understanding best practices for successfully implementing this type of restoration. I work closely with Kimiora to establish and maintain native habitat enhancements in almond and watermelon landscapes.

Undergraduate Researchers

Leila Haghi (University of California, Davis 2016)

Jessica Drost (University of California, Davis 2017)

Kevin Tahara (University of California, Davis 2017)

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PAST MEMBERS

Postdocs

Graduate Students

Katharina Ullmann (PhD) 2014 - I am currently employed as a Crop Pollination Specialist with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. As part of this position I work on extension and outreach associated with the Integrated Crop Pollination Project. I continue to be interested in how pollinators and the services they provide persist in intensified agricultural landscapes. I am also interested in pollinator habitat restoration, extension, and science communication. For more information about my previous experiences take a look at my CV. You can also look at the Pollinator Farm blog I manage.